#189: Home 2

“So, Teacher Hyeon Yi-jeong was Yoon Jung-hoon’s daughter...”

Yoon Tae-ha’s voice trailed off in confusion and surprise. If Hyeon Yi-jeong was Yoon Jung-hoon’s daughter, then she and Hyeon Yi-jeong were family. But she never showed it? Did that mean she didn’t recognize her niece? Or did she know and ignore her for the sake of the experiment?

A very uncomfortable question arose, and her stomach twisted. Yoon Tae-ha strongly repeated to herself that it couldn’t be. Hyeon Yi-jeong was the warmest adult she had ever met. She didn’t want to believe that she had a hidden agenda.

Soon, Yoon Jung-hoon was called away by another researcher and left. Only Raphael and Hyeon Yi-jeong remained, continuing their conversation as they approached the cultivation chamber.

<“I want to make medicine to purify contaminated land through this tree. Substances that rot the land have started coming out of monster corpses, and if we don’t prepare in advance, everyone will have a hard time.”>

Raphael, hearing Hyeon Yi-jeong’s concern, muttered something unintelligible. It seemed to be his native language. Just then, Hyeon Yi-jeong retorted in a similar language. Raphael’s face immediately brightened.

<“You can speak that language?”>

<“Perhaps we lived in the same land. It was hard to learn. The pronunciation is different from this language.”>

<“So that’s why that man introduced you to me.”>

Raphael’s eyes gleamed with an expression Yoon Tae-ha had never seen before. He seemed moved that Hyeon Yi-jeong could speak his language. To add a slightly more personal opinion, he seemed to have felt a slight attraction to Hyeon Yi-jeong the moment she spoke that language.

<“You said you’re going plant collecting in Phlegethon in three days, right? I’ll go with you. It would be troublesome if you dimwits couldn’t distinguish between poisonous and medicinal herbs.”>

<“It would be an honor if the Prince would accompany me.”>

An undeniable smile played on the arrogant foreigner’s lips. Just then, the crow abruptly interjected.

“Funny! How funny! The First Prince had five fiancées in total. The women he took to his bed were probably double that number!”

“...How kind. Telling me all sorts of things.”

“The first fiancée resembled that woman. She died of an illness.”

The crow muttered ominously. Yoon Tae-ha frowned at the unwelcome information. As the two walked into the corridor on the left, the surrounding objects changed form.

Soon after, Yoon Tae-ha was standing inside a state-of-the-art glass greenhouse, where everything could be controlled remotely. Small sprouts were just emerging on shelves stacked in multiple layers, and tall plants, each with a support, grew in rows in the center.

“It’s Ark’s plant farm.”

As soon as she realized where she was, the door behind her burst open, and Raphael and Hyeon Yi-jeong entered.

Hyeon Yi-jeong, holding a tablet, was focused on reading data. Raphael, who appeared with her, advised her that one of the fertilizers flowing through the pipeline should be replaced with a different component. His hair was significantly shorter, reaching only his shoulders. The crow said,

“This is a memory from a bit later. It seems the First Prince wanted to show you this memory. He purified and collected his memories before he died.”

“Could it be distorted?”

“The memories of the dead cannot be distorted. Even the person themselves cannot control their own memories. You can view them as pure historical records.”

“So your master wanted me to see Raphael’s memories?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there anything a dead person can gain by having new facts revealed to them? Is it to ease a guilty conscience?”

“How are you so sure you’re dead?”

“If it hurt that much, isn’t it natural to die?”

The bird closed its beak. It seemed to have at least some shame. Yoon Tae-ha once again rubbed the spot where the sword had been plunged.

Meanwhile, Hyeon Yi-jeong, who had even checked the temperature and humidity, lightly touched a yellow flower growing under the light from the illuminations. Raphael, who had been observing, posed a question first.

<“You seem to have something on your mind. Is something wrong?”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong’s eyes, fixated on the particularly withered flower, were filled with anguish.

<“Even with thorough management, these kinds of plants keep appearing. Even though it’s a plant farm observed by Gaia 24 hours a day...”>

<“It’s your arrogance to try to hold and control all living things in your hands. I’ve told you many times.”>

<“Having lived in a country where half the population were mages, I understand what you mean.”>

<“There’s a rumor.”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong, who had just changed the fertilizer for the wilting flower, turned her head. She remained silent. Unable to bear the uncomfortable silence any longer, Raphael impatiently blurted out,

<“The rumor that you’re pregnant.”>

<“It’s a relief that they don’t even know how many months along I am. Anyway, people in the lab... They have no secrets. It’s teeming with people who want to collect everyone else’s personal lives as data.”>

<“Is it not because you’re Yoon Jung-hoon’s daughter?”>

<“Few people know that. If I went around saying my father is Professor Yoon Jung-hoon, the reason I’m in the identity protection program would disappear.”>

<“Then it’s simply curiosity about you.”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong cast her eyes down, lost in thought. After a moment, she approached Raphael with a determined expression.

<“Are you good at keeping secrets?”>

<“It depends on the secret.”>

<“I wish for my child to be born healthy. Truly, desperately.”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong’s cheeks, as she whispered softly, were hollowed out.

Yoon Tae-ha felt a pang in her chest. So she had a child. She hadn’t known. Since she never wore a wedding ring, she had just assumed she was single. Researchers tended not to talk about family to the children, so she hadn’t found it strange.

<“Is someone threatening the child in your womb? Why do you already look so full of worry?”>

<“My child’s father is not from this place.”>

Her light blue eyes widened considerably. Raphael asked in disbelief,

<“What?”>

<“The child’s father is a foreigner. My child is a half-blood.”>

Raphael looked aghast.

<“Call all the gods whose names you know. Because the chances of your child being born healthy are that low.”>

<“My father, upon learning the truth, is... very worried about me. So much so that he can’t even sleep properly.”>

<“Of course he’d worry. Look, I’ve been stranded on Earth for quite a long time. I’ve lived among various people, changing my identity. But even I’ve never met a child born between a dimensional traveler and a foreigner!”>

<“My father said he would use every means and method to protect me and the child.”>

<“Is that so? Then why are you confiding such an important matter to me? Wasn’t Yoon Jung-hoon’s help enough?”>

<“I need your help too. Doctors say my body is perfectly normal, but it seems there’s a problem in areas they can’t detect. I often see hallucinations, and I hear human voices in the empty forest.”>

<“The bloodline of a foreigner is putting a strain on your body. I’d strongly recommend aborting...”>

<“Don’t you dare utter such words!”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong spat out her emotions, seething.

<“I will give birth no matter what. Even if I die, the child will be born safely. So cooperate. I did my best when you asked for help too!”>

She reached out and grabbed Raphael by the lapels. Raphael, with an uncomprehending expression, easily shook off Hyeon Yi-jeong’s hand.

<“You don’t care if the mother’s health is ruined?”>

<“As long as the child can be healthy, I don’t care.”>

Raphael clicked his tongue at the woman’s resolute gaze. She didn’t seem willing to back down at all.

After resisting for a long time, Raphael eventually threw up his hands at Hyeon Yi-jeong’s stubbornness. He picked a beautifully bloomed flower from a pot and tucked it into Hyeon Yi-jeong’s gown pocket.

<“How tenacious. If you really want it, I’ll make you a medicine that will help both of you. But it will be a terrible process. Discard any thought of it being pleasant.”>

<“Are you serious? Thank you!”>

With her joyful cry, the shelves filled with plants in the greenhouse turned into smoke from the top down and collapsed.

A relieved smile played on Hyeon Yi-jeong’s lips as she pulled the flower from her pocket and looked at it. Yoon Tae-ha reached out her hand towards her. But she couldn’t stop Hyeon Yi-jeong from turning into smoke...

Yoon Tae-ha felt a profound sense of disorientation and swayed weakly. An extreme loneliness, as if she were utterly alone in the world, overwhelmed her. It felt as if all the pillars supporting her had crumbled.

Raphael’s memories seemed to be preparing to show a new scene. The colors of objects randomly mixed. The crow was silent. Soon, Raphael’s memories took Yoon Tae-ha to another location.

This time, it was outdoors, not indoors.

Standing on a mountainside under a light gray sky, Yoon Tae-ha first looked for Hyeon Yi-jeong. And finding her wasn’t difficult.

Hyeon Yi-jeong was crossing a hill covered in faded grass. A birch forest with yellow leaves stretched out behind her. Dressed in a black dress, she walked with her eyes fixed on the ground. Her clothes were simple enough to be used as mourning attire. Just then, Raphael’s voice came from behind Yoon Tae-ha.

<“Here!”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong raised her head and weakly met Raphael’s eyes.

The woman, so thin that her bones showed through her clothes, staggered past Yoon Tae-ha. As the wind blew through the forest, Hyeon Yi-jeong swayed. Yoon Tae-ha’s heart ached with worry that she might collapse as she walked up the hill.

Raphael, waiting at the top of the hill, also didn’t have a bright expression.

<“You’re going back to Korea next month, you said?”>

<“My father suggested it. He asked if I’d consider taking care of children at a shelter in Seoul... He said there are many psychics there who lost their parents due to rifts and are growing up alone.”>

<“Still having nightmares?”>

Raphael asked in a noticeably more cautious voice.

<“Yes. But it’s okay. A mother who shamelessly clings to life by herself deserves that much punishment.”>

<“Your child’s death wasn’t your fault.”>

<“The only person my dead daughter can blame is her mother.”>

Hyeon Yi-jeong looked up at the ash-gray sky, not even thinking of tidying her disheveled hair.